Put Pressure on Indiana Media

Boycotting the Indiana Press’s Corporate School Reform Agenda

Through biased reporting and their unrelenting pursuit to promote Bennett, Daniels, and the corporate school reformers, the Indiana media flunkies have been selling the privatization of our schools for too long. The time is now to let local TV, radio, and newspaper reporters and editors know that we will not stand by idly. If the guilty don’t shape up, we must send them packing.

Here are a few ways to let publishers, editors, and producers know we are serious about canceling our subscriptions, changing the radio dial, and turning off the tube, encouraging others to follow.

The Boycott List:

Media Email Database

A database of Indiana newspaper contact information can be found here. Simply find the paper you want to contact and click on the (A) next to its name. This will take you to the paper’s contact form or email addresses to members of the editorial board or publishers.

You can find TV station contact information here, and a radio list at this link.

Here are a few selected to target.

1. Bloomington Herald-Times

This paper hosted a Bloomington Chamber of Commerce meeting with Tony Bennett. Both Douglas Storm and I submitted questions for editor Bob Zaltsberg to ask the superintendent. To the best of my knowledge, none of our questions made it through. Additionally, the paper published a meaningless account of the event and decided against running my editorial pointing out the cronyism in Tony Bennett’s agenda. They have published Douglas Storm’s letters and occasional guest columns, which have called out the corporate school reformers.

A primary issue of concern is a “know-nothing” editorial policy that claims, “If it isn’t going on in Bloomington or Monroe County it doesn’t get covered.” The barbarians at the gate do not come knocking and saying please and it behooves a community newspaper to make its readers aware of the impending invasion.

Bob Zaltsberg:
Editor, rzaltsberg@heraldt.com

2. Boots’ Newspapers: The Paper of Montgomery County and the Noblesville Times

These two papers are co-owned by Indiana Republican Senator Phil Boots and must be extensively targeted. Both papers are unavailable online without a subscription, but the editor, Tim Timmons, can be contacted at The Paper of Montgomery County at ttimmons@thepaper24-7.com. At the Noblesville Times, you can email him at ttimmons@thetimes24-7.com or use their contact email, which is news@thetimes24-7.com.

3. Courier Press (Evansville)

This paper had a fluff piece concerning the Indiana Republican legislators and ALEC and often quotes from groups like School Choice Indiana.

Eric Bradner (statehouse chief reporter): http://www.courierpress.com/staff/eric-bradner/contact/

Mizell Stewart III (Editor): StewartM@Courierpress.com

4. Emmis Communications

J. Scott Enright, who is the secretary of the corporate school reform group, the Friedman Foundation, also is vice president at Emmis Communications, the mega-media outfit with radio, digital, and publishing outlets in Los Angeles, St. Louis, New York, Austin, and Bulgaria. Emmis received $118,750 last year from Friedman to “educate the public” on school vouchers. In fact, Emmis did the WhyNotIndiana? ads which appeared on-line and in newspapers across Indiana.

In Indianapolis, Emmis owns ESPN 1070 the Fan, Country 97.1 Hank-FM, WIBC 93.1 FM, Soft Rock B105.7, each with a market revenue of $75 million. Their Terre Haute stations include Hi-99 Radio and 105,5 the River., each worth revenue of $7.1 million. Emmis also operates Network Indiana, which is a state network with revenue of $1.5 million which feeds news programming to stations across Indiana. In Indiana, the company also owns the 45,000 circulating Indianapolis Monthly.

You can contact Emmis at IR@emmis.com

5. Indy Star

Although they have printed a few of my letters, the Indy Star has constantly cheered the corporate school reformers in this state. They often quote from sources spilling propaganda, praise Bennett in editorials, do next to no research in writing their reports, and are in bed with the GEO Foundation’s Kevin Teasley, using his words as gospel every chance they get.

Karen Crotchfelt, President and Publisher: karen.crotchfelt@indystar.com

Matthew Tully: matthew.tully@indystar.com (falls over backwards to support Bennett and others)
Scott Elliott: scott.elliott@indystar.com
Russ Pulliam: russell.pulliam@indystar.com

6. Inside Indiana Business

A multimedia outfit, IIB has been in love with the Mind Trust and other corporate school reformers from the get-go and main TV star Gary Dick has interviewed and praised several corporate school reformers. He can be reached at http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/gi_contact_us.asp.

7. News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne)

This paper is NOT the Journal Gazette, which does outstanding work calling out the corporate school reformers.

Mike Christman: Publisher: mchristman@fortwayne.com
Elbert Starks III: estarks@news-sentinel.com

Leo Morris: Editorial Page Editor: lmorris@news-sentinel.com

8. NPR/State Impact Indiana

These reporters often do legitimate stories on education in Indiana, but they fail in what is possible in investigative reporting, too often quoting only corrupt sources and focusing on the wrong questions. The national NPR takes money from the Gates Foundation, one of the biggest promoters of school privatization, so don’t expect to get an honest response from them either.

Ben Skirvin: bskirvin@imail.iu.edu

Kyle Stokes: kdstokes@indiana.edu

9. Post-Tribune (Merrillville)

Reverend Ray Dix writes editorials for this paper. Dix has had Daniels’ crony and Black Alliance for Educational Options’ Jackie Cissell on his radio show highlighting charter schools. BAEO is a front group set up by the Walton family and several other rich white men whose goal is to drain the public schools through vouchers and set up charters to completely privatize public education. Dix often praises the corporate school reform movement in his pieces, which I have responded harshly to.

Paulette Haddix: Executive Editor: phaddix@post-trib.com

Rich James: Editorial Page Editor: rjames@post-trib.com

Contact Raymond Dix at http://www.raymonddixministries.com/Contact_Us.html

10. Wane TV

A member of the LIN Media Corporation, Channel 15 Fort Wayne, WANE refuses to point out conflicts of interest in people like Jamie Garwood who appears on their channel.

Contact Form Page: http://www.wane.com/subindex/About_Us/Contact_Us

Reporter Megan Reust: megan.reust@wane.com

LIN Media: http://www.linmedia.com/contact-us/

For more details see the original article at the Common Errant web site.

Wear Red on May 11

From: _Bunche Mailbox [mailto:bunche@fwcs.k12.in.us]
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 6:22 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Wear Red May 11

Friday May 11th is "Wear Red for Ed" day. This is way you can show your support for public education. The Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education group initiated this as a great way to talk to others about our strong public education system. Your child(ren) are receiving a high quality education at a public school that would cost a good sum of money at a private school. Please help support us by talking about public education to your friends and co-workers and by wearing red May 11th. YOU are our best advocate!

ICPE Candidates' Forum

From: Mark A. Burkhart
Date: Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 4:33 PM
Subject: ICPE Candidates' Forum

Friends of Public Education:

The Delaware County Chapter of the Indiana Coalition for Public Education (ICPE) is sponsoring a legislative candidates’ forum Tuesday afternoon, May 1, 2012. The forum will be held at the Muncie Area Career Center Presidents’ Room, 2500 N. Elgin Avenue, Muncie (park in the south lot for nearest entry). Indiana House of Representatives candidates from all districts (31-32-33-34-35) covering Delaware County have been invited A meet-and-greet with light refreshments will start at 4 p.m. with a formal program at 4:30 p.m. It is anticipated that the entire event will conclude no later than 5:30 p.m. Please invite anyone interested in public education. Thanks.

Mark Burkhart
External/Corresponding Secretary
Delaware County ICPE

Revolt Against Testing is Growing

Palm Beach County Florida is the third largest county in the state of Florida and the county school system is the 11th largest school system in the country. It's also the first Florida school district to come out against the overuse and misuse of high stakes testing, following the lead of over 400 school districts, representing 40% of all school districts in Texas.

According to the Palm Beach Post Extra Credit blog, the Palm Beach County School Board added their name to the growing list of individuals and organizations supporting the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing.

The resolution calls for an end to the over reliance on high stakes testing required by the federal No Child Left Behind law, the Obama administration's Race to the Top and various state accountability systems.

The resolution calls on

...the governor, state legislature and state education boards and administrators to reexamine public school accountability systems in this state, and to develop a system based on multiple forms of assessment which does not require extensive standardized testing, more accurately reflects the broad range of student learning, and is used to support students and improve schools...

It further calls on the U.S. Congress and the current administration

...to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as the "No Child Left Behind Act," reduce the testing mandates, promote multiple forms of evidence of student learning and school quality in accountability, and not mandate any fixed role for the use of student test scores in evaluating educators.

Groups and Individuals may sign the Resolution by clicking HERE.

In another story about the growing public outcry against the overuse and misuse of standardized tests see NY principals: A ‘wrecking ball’ of reform aimed at schools. A group of more than 1400 New York State Principals have sent an open letter to the State Board of Regents asking them to rethink their "reform" agenda.

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National Resolution on High Stakes Testing

...from Valerie Strauss's Answer Sheet

National resolution against high-stakes tests released

[A National Resolution on High Stakes Testing was] released Tuesday by a coalition of national education, civil rights and parents groups, as well as educators who are trying to build a broad-based movement against the Obama administration’s test-centric school reform program.

This is the latest in a series of recent initiatives taken around the country by academics, educators, parents and others to protest the use of student standardized test scores for high-stakes decisions, including teacher and principal evaluation, student grade promotion and high school graduation...

...Many researchers in the assessment field have warned against using standardized test scores for high-stakes decisions, saying they are unreliable for such a purpose. High-stakes standardized testing, they say, has led to the narrowing of the curriculum; classrooms where “teaching to the test” is paramount; and unfair evaluation of students, teachers, principals and schools.

The resolution (see text below) is modeled on one passed in recent months by more than 360 school boards in Texas, where the Republican state education commissioner, Robert Scott, made news in February by saying the mentality that standardized testing is the “end-all, be-all” is a “perversion” of what a quality education should be, and calling “the assessment and accountability regime” not only “a cottage industry but a military-industrial complex.”

The organizers want organizations and individuals to endorse the resolution, which asks officials in every state to “reexamine public school accountability systems” and to “develop a system based on multiple forms of assessment which does not require extensive standardized testing” and “more accurately reflects the broad range of student learning.”

The resolution also calls on Congress and the Obama administration to rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal education law known in its current form as No Child Left Behind, in a way that reduces the mandate for standardized tests, promotes multiple forms of evidence that students are learning and does not mandate that student test scores be used to evaluate educators...

...The national resolution was written by Advancement Project; Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund; FairTest; Forum for Education and Democracy; MecklenburgACTS; Deborah Meier; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; National Education Association; New York Performance Standards Consortium; Tracy Novick; Parents Across America; Parents United for Responsible Education - Chicago; Diane Ravitch; Race to Nowhere; Time Out From Testing; and United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries...

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National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing

WHEREAS, our nation's future well-being relies on a high-quality public education system that prepares all students for college, careers, citizenship and lifelong learning, and strengthens the nation's social and economic well-being; and

WHEREAS, our nation's school systems have been spending growing amounts of time, money and energy on high-stakes standardized testing, in which student performance on standardized tests is used to make major decisions affecting individual students, educators and schools; and

WHEREAS, the over-reliance on high-stakes standardized testing in state and federal accountability systems is undermining educational quality and equity in U.S. public schools by hampering educators' efforts to focus on the broad range of learning experiences that promote the innovation, creativity, problem solving, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and deep subject-matter knowledge that will allow students to thrive in a democracy and an increasingly global society and economy; and

WHEREAS, it is widely recognized that standardized testing is an inadequate and often unreliable measure of both student learning and educator effectiveness; and

WHEREAS, the over-emphasis on standardized testing has caused considerable collateral damage in too many schools, including narrowing the curriculum, teaching to the test, reducing love of learning, pushing students out of school, driving excellent teachers out of the profession, and undermining school climate; and

WHEREAS, high-stakes standardized testing has negative effects for students from all backgrounds, and especially for low-income students, English language learners, children of color, and those with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the culture and structure of the systems in which students learn must change in order to foster engaging school experiences that promote joy in learning, depth of thought and breadth of knowledge for students; therefore be it

RESOLVED, that [your organization name] calls on the governor, state legislature and state education boards and administrators to reexamine public school accountability systems in this state, and to develop a system based on multiple forms of assessment which does not require extensive standardized testing, more accurately reflects the broad range of student learning, and is used to support students and improve schools; and

RESOLVED, that [your organization name] calls on the U.S. Congress and Administration to overhaul the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as the "No Child Left Behind Act," reduce the testing mandates, promote multiple forms of evidence of student learning and school quality in accountability, and not mandate any fixed role for the use of student test scores in evaluating educators.

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Click HERE to sign the resolution.

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Application Overview for Newly Proposed Charter School in Fort Wayne

Crossposted from A Teacher's Fight

 

Sun Academy of Fort Wayne

Charter School Application Overview

Who is proposing this school?

Keith Birkhold who is the CEO of Stellar School Services, LLC located here in Ft. Wayne. SSS is a limited liability for-profit company est. in 2006 under the name Stellar Educational Management Servies, LLC. http://www.stellarschoolservices.com/

Keith Birkhold has been trying to establish charter schools for several years.  He first tried to open up virtual charter schools in Indiana, but was denied each time. He does have one school in Ohio called Star Academy of Toledo which is managed by a company called Mosaica.

Key Findings: He is looking to create 5-10 schools. His strategic goals for the SSS business: “expand SSS’ (Stellar School Services) impact through strategic messaging and outreach efforts with key influence makers”; “research, develop and build a long-term brand and marketing strategy”;  “integrate the brand and marketing strategies”

What kind of school?

A K-12 (at full enrollment) school beginning with K-6. The focus will be a bilingual/STEM school.

Where?

1025 West Rudisill Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN – on the former Taylor University of Fort Wayne campus

What is being proposed?

• Will adapt the Sakai digital learning platform to support SSS managed school
• SA will establish a 4 month marketing strategy by utilizing the teaching staff for marketing, community outreach, and enrollment activities.
• 1^st year - Two highly qualified teachers per classroom to promote collaboration and be more effective at addressing remediation needs – then in year two they would separate
• All students will have a tablet PC.
• Typical school day for a 2^nd grader – 7-7:55 Early Arrival/Breakfast; End of day 4:00 (tutoring till 5 if student is struggling)
•  Teachers report 7:30 am and leave at 4:45 pm.
•  If students are below 70% mastery – summer school will be mandatory.
• Will work closely with Turnstone and admit any SPED students – faculty list has 2 SPED teachers budgeted.
• Since they aim to be a bilingual school – all staff and administrators will be hired with training in ELL or training will be provided. Staff will engage in training to become fluent in Spanish in one year.  They know it will reduce the pool of applicants so they are going to try and recruit from teacher colleges in Chicago, Texas, and California. First, will recruit locally. Then also work with TFA. Look to areas with high percentage of bilingual teachers (Chicago, LA, South Texas) All teachers must be fluent in Spanish within 12 months. Anticipates hiring teachers with 0-5 years in the beginning years.
•  Targeting Hispanic families – through FW Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Cinco de Mayo celebrations
• Will begin an aggressive recruitment campaign once approved.
•  NWEA testing will be used along with all the other state testing requirements.
• Will implement a continuous and rigorous system of data collection – they are extremely specific on how this will be done. Realistically, it’s going to be quite the challenge for a teacher esp. if they hire recent college grads. They are pushing the use of the Sakai Learning Management System (which all I could gather was that it has been used in higher ed)
• Using many ideas from the Camino Nuevo Charter Academy (CNCA) in L.A. and the Denver School of Science and Tech. School (which is supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
• Teacher aides for every classroom
• Atyani Howard from CNCA will work with SA to design a professional development program that integrates with the data-instruction looping system.
•  “Our strategy will be to out-compete local schools for the best new teachers by partnering with local colleges for training their teachers, identifying top performers, and offering a better starting employment package and work environment.” Merit pay system yet to be determined. NWEA will be used for performance bonuses.
• Min. 1 year increase for those already on grade level and 3 years to catch kids up. Of course it says that the performance pool will be tied to the financial strength of SA.
• NO TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED
• Curriculum – Houghton Mifflin as a resource with mostly technology resources to be used. Singapore Math to be used. 

Education Issues 2012 #3

Changing Direction, Teaching as a Career, Investment in Education, VAM in Teacher Training

(Click on the titles below to read the complete articles.)

NSBA President’s letter to Obama: please change direction!

We want for each American child the same things that you and Michelle want for Sasha and Malia—inspiration, aspiration, creativity. I know you don’t want an overemphasis on testing. I have heard you say it. Experience in schools and communities, supported by research, tells us that relentlessly focusing on standardized tests erodes our national competitiveness and deadens curiosity and drive. Clearly, we need some testing to gauge student learning, and we have no problem with appropriate accountability. But we have swung to a far extreme that is significantly hurting children. “Students are numbing over testing for testing’s sake…. We can’t test this country into excellence.” (Sonny Savoie, LA)

...the present narrow focus on accountability and trend of demonizing those in public education, arrogantly focusing on “failing schools,” is diametrically opposed to fostering excellence.

Mr. President, public education in the U.S. is on the wrong track. As we have moved decision-making farther from teachers and children, we have jeopardized our competitive edge and keys to our national success: our ingenuity, our openness to innovation, and our creativity.

The Hardest Job Everyone Thinks They Can Do

Are there billionaires who insist on making public policy for professions other than teaching? Does money qualify one as an expert in public education? How about attendance? Does having attended school give one the expertise needed to improve public education?

Can anyone be a teacher? Does it take any special training or development?

I realize now how little respect teachers get. Teaching is the toughest job everyone who’s never done it thinks they can do. I admit, I was guilty of these delusions myself. When I decided to make the switch from “doing” science to “teaching” science, I found out that I had to go back to school to get a teaching credential.

“What the f—?!?,” I screamed to any friends willing to put up with my griping. “I have a Ph.D.! Why do I need to go back to get a lousy teaching credential?!?”

I was baffled. How could I, with my advanced degree in biology, not be qualified to teach biology?!

Well, those school administrators were a stubborn bunch. I simply couldn’t get a job without a credential. And so, I begrudgingly enrolled in a secondary teaching credential program.

And boy, were my eyes opened. I understand now.

Teachers deserve our trust

No other profession is as readily dismissed in debates about their work. Politicians, businesspeople, parents, Treasury - we all know better how to "fix" the education system. Teachers matter, everyone agrees; but mostly when we're looking to apportion blame for education failure.

No Funds Left Behind

Why is it that those people who send their children to expensive private schools or well funded public schools are the ones who cry the loudest that money doesn't matter in education?

Last spring, as the Texas Legislature debated massive cuts to public schools—one of many desperate measures to close a $27 billion biennial budget deficit—10,000 protesters massed in Austin for a “Save Our Schools” rally. In the end, the damage to the state’s already-underfunded schools added up to $5.4 billion, forcing districts to lay off tens of thousands of teachers and staffers. In the city of Austin, public schools with rapidly growing enrollment found themselves facing a 5.5 percent cut in the 2011–2012 school year and 8.5 percent the next year. The quandary was far from extraordinary—37 states spent less on education in 2011 compared to 2010. Neither was one of the Austin schools’ solutions: seeking grant money from the world’s largest philanthropic organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Ed Dept seeks to bring test-based assessment to teacher prep programs

We know that using Value Added Method (VAM) to evaluate teachers -- evaluating teachers using student test scores -- isn't valid. Why would the US Department of Education want to extend that use to evaluate teacher training institutions?

The Education Department just tried — and failed — to persuade a group of negotiators to agree to regulations that would rate colleges of education in large part on how K-12 students being taught by their graduates perform on standardized tests. As part of this scheme, financial aid to students in these programs would not be based entirely on need but, rather, would also be linked to test scores.

The department’s plans assume that standardized test scores can reliably and validly be used for such accountability purposes . Most researchers in this field say they can’t — for a number of reasons, including the limitations of the tests themselves — and therefore shouldn’t be used for any high stakes decision in education anywhere. They say that making test scores so important is one of the negative consequences of the last decade of No Child Left Behind, and shouldn’t be continued.

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